Iran's World Cup Team Ordered to Leave United States Immediately After Opening Match Against American Squad
Iran's national soccer team was ordered to leave the US immediately after their World Cup opener against New Zealand on Monday. The team had initially planned to spend the night in Los Angeles to recover from the 2-2 draw, but Coach Amir Ghalenoei said they were told to return to their training base in Mexico right away.
Ghalenoei expressed frustration, stating that the team was not given time to recover and that the decision to leave was made by someone else. "They didn’t even give us time to recover," he said. "After the game today, they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately.’"
Iran captain Mehdi Taremi also spoke about the challenges the team faced, including a five-hour trip from Tijuana to the Los Angeles area on Sunday due to security checks. Taremi called on FIFA to provide more assistance, saying "I think FIFA have to help us more than this... Everything is like a disaster, actually, for us."
The team's remaining games in group play are against Belgium and Egypt. The Iranian team's presence at the World Cup has been marked by protests and controversy, with several hundred Iranian Americans demonstrating outside the stadium and fans displaying symbols of the pre-1979 Iranian flag despite FIFA's attempts to restrict them.
Ghalenoei expressed frustration, stating that the team was not given time to recover and that the decision to leave was made by someone else. "They didn’t even give us time to recover," he said. "After the game today, they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately.’"
Iran captain Mehdi Taremi also spoke about the challenges the team faced, including a five-hour trip from Tijuana to the Los Angeles area on Sunday due to security checks. Taremi called on FIFA to provide more assistance, saying "I think FIFA have to help us more than this... Everything is like a disaster, actually, for us."
The team's remaining games in group play are against Belgium and Egypt. The Iranian team's presence at the World Cup has been marked by protests and controversy, with several hundred Iranian Americans demonstrating outside the stadium and fans displaying symbols of the pre-1979 Iranian flag despite FIFA's attempts to restrict them.
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